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MonarchX

I don't think its pure mercy... I have encountered cases when a person comes out of their car and denies a search. Cops threaten to bring K9s but almost never do. Obviously if you deny search then you are very likely to have something illegal.

Is illegal search applicable to cars as well? Lets say there was no probable cause to search your car but the cops searched it anyway - is that illegal search?

What if a cop brought K9 after you denied search, and K9s gave a signal - is that also illegal search if there was no probable cause?

 

Buzzby

It's probably that they don't have a K9 unit readily available.

The requirements to search a car are much less stringent than those to obtain a search warrant to search a home.

If a dog alerts, that provides a reasonable suspicion that a crime is being committed, giving the police legitimate reasons to search the vehicle.

This question has been asked and answered in great detail. Take a look at Questions about car searches.

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FakeBoobsRule

Well I'm surprised Phuzz hasn't gotten to this yet, but remember you have to have probable cause and an exigent circumstance or exception to the warrant requirement to conduct a search without a warrant (I think I worded that right, God I hope so or else Phuzz will get on me). Some of these are obvious like plain view or consent, maybe even someone yelling for help from the trunk! I think Phuzz has also stated that the requirement for probable cause is the same whether it is a car or house but that because cars are mobile which could lead to the destruction of evidence or escape there are more exceptions to the warrant requirement. Just because a search is deemed illegal doesn't always mean the evidence gathered will be tossed. There is inevitable discovery and fruits of the poisonous tree. Inevitable discovery is what it sounds like, that although a mistake was made there was enough that eventually the cops would have pieced it together and found out or maybe the mistake was made in good faith. I'm sure Phuzz or Troublemaker can give a better definition. On the other hand fruit of the poisonous tree means that had they not cut corners or violated rights they wouldn't have figured it out and some or everything from that point is off limits. So they need both to conduct a warrantless search except for this little backdoor:

Inventory because the car was towed.

Say you get stopped for speeding and your license is expired. They arrest you and tow the car. In many states they get to search the car and inventory it so you don't say they stole stuff and some other reasons. I don't know all these details as I learned from someone's post that in someone's state if you are handcuffed they can't inventory the car or something like that (might be Phuzz again). There are many caviots to everything legal so it is hard to make umbrella statements. See the inventory because of towing the car can be used as an inevitable discovery sometimes.

Anyway so you need probable cause and an expection to the warrant requirement to search in most cases. The arrest and towing the car is one of these exceptions.

Read Phuzz's sticky. You might want to also pay attention to the Terry pat downs. Say he is able to get you out of the car and he is afraid you might be carrying a concealed weapon. He can pat you down for his safety and this might lead to the discovery of contraband if it is on you. I'm rambling now trying my best to word things right so you're best off reading Phuzz's answers as he gives very good and detailed answers.

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MonarchX

It happened again!

Friend was driving and smoking a joint. All of a sudden your regular vehicle has lights on and he gets pulled over. The cop was dressed in a suit and tie and had a badge. The joint was long swallowed, but still wreaked. Friend obviously denies denies denies. The cop says that he is calling a K9 unit to get things sorted out.

Well, another cop came and NO K9 UNIT!

In the end the cop gave my friend his number and asked him to call his office so they can discuss how he can help him get rid of the charge (which was non-existent since the car was never searched, there was no possession, and its legal to drive and be high in my state). WTF..? haha...

Anyway...what if you admit to a cop that u smoked but u have none on you? Would you get in trouble? Can they give a charge for possession and disposal of evidence?

Buzzby

Which state is that? AFAIK, it's illegal to drive under the influence of drugs in all fifty of them.

Driving Under the Influence of Drugs

 

troublemaker_42

Not only driving under the influence of drugs, but also possibly possession or injestion charges if you live in SD or any other state that has such laws.

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MonarchX

OK, I didn't know that... but people get away if they do not admit to being high, right?

Howcome cops don't give saliva and blood tests on the spot? If they would they could prove you were high...

I still don't understand lack of K9s. If they can create that probable cause then why not use them on people who smoke like weed? Cases of cops threatening to bring K9s happen ALL the time, but they bring them very rarely.

Buzzby

In some places they do saliva tests. Blood tests require a court order.

As I said before, there are not enough K9 units to go around. Some small police forces have none or one. If it's busy or off-duty, the traffic stop officer doesn't have a lot of options. They can't detain you beyond the time it would take to make an ordinary traffic stop.

troublemaker_42

It all depends on jurisdiction and how the cops in the area view marijuana. SD cops are VERY conservative for the most part, and moist have ready access to K9 units. However, in larger cities or areas of higher population densities, marijuana may not always be viewed with the same almost fanatical hatred some small-town cops have. Bigger city cops have bigger problems to deal with than someone smoking some weed, and probably feel their limited k9 units would be better served focusing on harder drugs or bigger dealers. In smaller jurisdictions, cops are more likely to take marijuana arrests seriously, and don't have tro stand in line to get a K9 unit to the scene. In the simpliest terms, some cops are more fanatical than others about making weed arrests, and the resources available play a role on weather a dog is called in or not.

MonarchX

Resource comment is the only that makes sense because this is a small city and cops truly have nothing to do but bust kids with marijuana. When I was ticketed for minor in possession of alcohol, the officers were notified of a possible homicide just down the road. Well, cops decided that giving out tickets to minors was more important because they were going to make money off of the Alcohol Diversion Program...

I also have family member in NYC, Brooklyn and I know for a fact that when stabbings and shootings happen in black projects, they don't even bother going there (I witnessed that at the police station).

From what I understand there is a certain number of arrests/tickets a cop has to issue each month to keep his job. Drug possession is something semi-easy and semi-safe in comparison to going after something violent.

And then I see cops using weapons and tasers on 14 year old girls because they are too fat and out of shape that they can't put her on the ground and can't put her hands behind her back. Generally speaking, only from my experience, your average is more likely to be out of shape and fat than an average citizen. Shouldn't it be the other way around? Shouldn't a cop be physically fit?

Everyone I know (from college students to parents to lower class, middle class, and upper class citizens) looks down on cops.

So they do their duty technically by writing out tickets and arresting for non-violent crimes because they are against the law, but they aren't REALLY protecting people from whats dangerous.

There is a red light district here where murders happen, prostitution occurs, and heavy drug dealing are all over the place. No cops there...never. They are all driving around the main college street where kids drink in bars and have a good time. Its supposedly for our safety, but in reality its for easy ticketing...

Sorry for the rant...